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Community Reaction To Carver/Century Closure
March 18, 2009
Disappointment — that was the recurring word used by Carver/Century K-8 School supporters following the Escambia County School Board’s decision to close the school.
“I am disappointed; I thought we had a chance,” Century Mayor Freddie McCall said. “I thought (board member) Patty Hightower might change her mind. We finally got a good principal, and he needs the chance to finish the job he started. We just had that cloud of closure over our heads. We needed that three years without that cloud of closure that I asked the board for.”
“It’s a sad situation that this had to happen,” said Carver/Century Principal Jeff Garthwaite. “They are dismantling our family; we all share a common bond.”
“Now we must look forward; we can’t look back,” Garthwaite said. “The primary thing is our students and now we must focus on them.”
“They are totally doing Century wrong,” Annie Savage, grandmother of a Carver/Century student, said. “But it is not over. I feel that the school board has done us wrong.”
Savage said the majority of the tax dollars in the northern part of Escambia County are from Century, and she said people in Walnut Hill and Bratt choose to visit the doctors and drug stores in Century, adding to those tax dollars.
But that tax dollar majority has been ignored, Savage said, in the closing of Century’s only school.
“And taking them out of Carver and putting them in Ernest Ward is segregation,” Savage added, saying that moving black students from the predominantly black Century school to the predominantly white Ernest Ward was a problem. “I still say that is segregation.”
“I am mad and frustrated,” said Michelle Richmond, mother of Carver/Century sixth grader Olivia Richmond. “I am not looking forward to sending my child to a new school.”
Richmond said she moved her daughter from a larger Santa Rosa County school to the smaller Carver/Century because she felt it was a better opportunity for her child, an A-B honor roll student.
“I hate to put her back in a big school. She will be lost,” Richmond said.
Comments
11 Responses to “Community Reaction To Carver/Century Closure”
I agree….If you had read carefully what I wrote you would have notice that I stated that I was never treated that way. Of course there are some disrecpectful children there and I saw how they were allowed to treat other teachers. There was a lot of fear on the teachers behave, why I don’t know. Maybe you were one of them. Children will test the boundaries and if you let them get away with disrespect then that what you will get. Yes it is true that some of these children are not getting what they need at home and far as discipline but you have to remember some of these children are being raised by mothers who had them when they were teenagers. Children raising children. I DO KNOW this from living and being raised in Century.
JESUS
Be for real…….As for bulling……..A child does not bully a 40+ adult, it is called NO RESPECT FOR AUTHORITY. Yes, I saw that day after day also. I did not work under the current principal and it is my understanding that he has made great strides at the school. Do not get me wrong, I loved every child that I was with at Carver/Century and many of the parents were fantastic but there was a huge lack of respect or effort from many of the student and parents. I believe that is why the school is in the situation it is in today. If these parents had put as much time and effort into the children and the school many years ago we would not be having this discussion today. It does not matter how great the teachers are, and they are great at Century, if the parents do not get behind them and thier children it will not be succesful.
Be for real…..You are so wrong there…..I worked a Century/Carver for years and saw it day after day so I DO KNOW from first hand experience!!!!
PEOPLE GET A GRIP IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH RACE TWO SHOOLS HAVE ALREADY MERGED AND IT WAS CENTURY AND EWMS EVERYTHING WAS GOOD AND IT WILL ALL WORK OUT NOW….WHY DO PEOPLE ALWAYS THINK THE WHITE IS RACEST IT GOES BOTH WAY…BUT THEY NEED TO BLAME THE SCHOOL BOARD OR THE TEACHERS FOR NOT DOING A GOOD JOB…ITS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE WITE VS BLACK ISSUE PEOPLE SHOULD NOT BE THAT WAY WE ARE ALL THE SAME JUST DIFFERENT COLORS….GOD LOVES US ALL….IM NOT SAYING THERES NOT WITES THAT ARE RACEST BECAUSE I KNOW THERE IS BUT THERES BLACKS THE SAMY WAY I LIKE EVERYONE NO MATTER WHAT THEY LOOK LIKE AND WHAT COLOR THEY ARE…
No Mrs. Perry will demand respect and expect them to BEHAVE which is way more than any of you have done. Anywhere in the “Good Ole USA” a person must act correctly in our society!!!
I agree—You have never seen a parent not pick up their sick child at Carver/Century, so only speak about what you know. I to use to sub at Carver/Century and I never experienced any of that stuff because those children knew that they didn’t scare me one bit. You show no fear and demand respect and you will get it. If a bully knows that you fear him, he will keep picking on you. The only thing Mrs. Perry will do is throw those children out of her school and that will solve her problem. Send the problem somewhere else.
E.D.M. Sorry, my comment was ment to agree with The Truth!!
E.M.D—- I have been there to and have faced the same things. Books being thrown at me and things stolen from my purse (caught him with his hand in my purse and the money in his pocket) I was asked by the Principal at the time to NOT press charges against this boy but I did and I was given the cold shoulder for a while. They want to make every excuse in the book for the bad behavior that is a problem over there. I have a child at EWMS and I have no problem what so ever with these children attending there but I can tell you one thing…..Mrs Perry will not put up with that mess!!!!!!!!!! The parents need to get behind this and have a good attitude or it will be hard for thier children to make the change. Color of skin will have nothing to do with it, the problem will be attitude and behavior. I have never seen Mrs. Perry treat any student differently or unfairly because of race. She will expect All the student to behave no matter where they came from.
As for not being able to pick up a sick child, some would not pick up thier sick children from Carver and they lived just down the road so that excuse just doesn’t hold water with me!
Annie Savage needs to stop with all of this segregation crap. Just another scape goat . This is the 21st century. All kids are accepted at Ernest Ward no matter if they are black, white, or pink with purple polka dots. The last time I was in Ernest Ward , I don’t remember seeing separate water fountains from which white kids drank at one and black kids drank from the other. There are not separate bathrooms from which white kids go to one and black kids go to another. Get the picture. Ms. Savage you can make up all of the excuses you want. You can blame everyone else all you want to. The fault lies within Century and Century only.
Let me give you some examples. I use to substitute teach at Carver/Century. I saw how things were on the inside. On one occasion I had a girl get up in my face and call me a whore. She didn’t know me from Adam. On another occasion I had a boy pick up a desk and throw it at me. I had to call for assistance in the classroom. They had to beg me to stay the rest of the school day. That was my last time in that school. I declined from any more jobs at that school.
Point is you don’t see things of that nature at Ernest Ward, Bratt, or Molino Park. Stop living in the past and stop playing that racial card. It’s really getting old.
Annie Savage said, “And taking them out of Carver and putting them in Ernest Ward is segregation,” Savage added, saying that moving black students from the predominantly black Century school to the predominantly white Ernest Ward was a problem. “I still say that is segregation.”
Excuse me, but that statement makes absolutely no sense. Do you know the definition (meaning) of the word, segregation? Please look this one up so you will know for sure what it means. I think that perhaps you meant, “integration.” Is that what you really meant? And it would help us all if we put away race from our minds. It’s over. Now, make a difference for harmony instead of agitation. Years ago, my boss gave all of his employees the same scripture to meditate on every year. It has changed by life for the better. Everyone wants better. Right? That is why I want to share this. It is Psalm 119-165.